Dallas will not sign Jamaal Jackson though Brad BiggsSharePrint This August 13, 2012, 09:35 AM EST

The Dallas Cowboys kicked the tires on Jamaal Jackson and decided they would take a pass.

The team worked out the veteran center on Sunday but decided not to pursue a contract with the former Philadelphia Eagle, according to Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas. Jackson has not played since 2010 and Archer reports he was not in good shape.

But the Cowboys remain in the market for help at the position. Injuries have hit the Cowboys hard at center as their top three players are hurt. Phil Costa, the starter, will not play in the preseason opener tonight because of a back issue. The good news is he could be back on the practice field soon.

Worse, backups Bill Nagy and Kevin Kowalski each have “serious ankle injuries,” according to the report, and Nagy could be headed for surgery. That has the Cowboys searching on the street for some help.

First off, you'll be lucky to get anything more than a conditional 7th for any trades made in August.

Secondly, the Falcons don't need to carry 3 centers on their roster, like they did for most of last year. Konz is a capable center, and that should be where his future lies. The Falcons appear confident in Garrett Reynolds playing right guard, and if that is the case, then you don't need to keep Hawley around. Konz can fill in an emergency at either C or RG. You're also going to probably keep Mike Johnson or Andrew Jackson now if Hawley is dumped, so you have a viable backup RG again in the event that both McClure and Reynolds go down.

Hawley is expendable at this point in his career. Why not get something for him.

If you think you're going to get a return on your investment of a 4th round pick in him, then you're barking up the wrong tree. The only way you get that back via trade is if Hawley turns into a Pro Bowl center at some point in the coming years. Living up to his 4th round status means that he has to be a long-term fixture in the starting lineup. Konz is not a natural guard, but a natural center. If the Falcons want to make the most of his career, then they need to move him to center sooner rather than later. He can function as a guard, but he'll never be great there IMO.

Conditional picks are pretty much what they sound like. The compensation is conditional to certain conditions.

When it comes to these training camp/summer trades, most of the time the condition rests on the player traded making the roster. For example, if we traded Hawley to Dallas for a conditional 7th round pick. If Hawley makes the Cowboys roster, then the Cowboys will owe us their 7th round pick in 2013. If Hawley does not, then they owe us nothing.

Now, during the spring you'll also hear conditional picks being traded. But sometimes the conditions to such trades is based on more than simply making the roster. I want to say the trade between Washington and Philadelphia to acquire Donovan McNabb had some conditional picks added to it, such that if McNabb started all 16 games, the compensation for the trade could move up a round. Sometimes those conditions are based around performance. If a guy wins a playoff game, or throws/runs for a certain amount of yards, etc.

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